Boiler cleaner



March 14, 1933. F. w. LINAKER BOILER CLEANER Filed July 3, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR mfi zadmr,

By Attorneys,

March 14, 1933. F. w. LINAKER BOILER CLEANER Filed July 3, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIII/III/II/I/III/IIIIIII/I/IIII III/IIIIIIIIIII/Il/l:

"I."I""1",",////l/////i///I/I/// IIIIIIIIIJIII/II/ Ill ur/lll/ INVENTOR M By Attorneys,

F. W. LlNAKER BOILER CLEANER March 14, 1933.

Filed July 3, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 iNVENTOR $65M WM,

By Attorneys,

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Patented Mar. 14, 1933 FREDERICK W. LINAKER, 0F BROOKLYN, NEVI YORK BOILER CLEANER Application filed. July 3,

This invention relates to improvements in cleaners for water tube boilers, super-heaters, or the like, and aims to provide certain improvements therein.

In this type of apparatus thereextend into the boiler between the tubes a series of cleaner units which comprise rotatable steam pipes provided with a series of jet openings which when steam is admitted to them blow the ashes, etc. from the tubes. Such units are usually connected at the exterior of the boiler wall with an operating head containing a steam chamber which is connected to the boiler, and a valve which is designed to control the passage of steam from said chamber to to the cleaner unit. Means are customarily provided for rotating the cleaner unit and fo opening and closing the valve. The present invention is particularly directed to a construction in which there is a common means for opening the valve and rotating the unit, and in its preferred form operates first to open the valve and then turn the unit through a predetermined arc, whereupon the unit may be returned to its initial position and the valve then closed. the objects of the present invention is to provide a cleaner of this type which is of cheap and simple construction and in which there 1s a positive sequence of operations, and a certainty of properly closing and unclosing the valve.' The invention has certain other advantages which will be more fully described.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate one form of the invention:

- Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 in Fig. 5.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to i of the draw ings let A indicate the outer end of a cleaner element shown as a tube extending through a Among 1929. Serial No. 375,772.

section of boiler wall [B and designed to project into th e'interior of the boiler. C is a continuation of thecleaner A and is connected with it by means of flanges D and E, the flange D being screwed and keyed to the section A, and the flange E being similarly connected to the section C,-and the two parts being screwed together screw bolts F. G is the operating head having at its upper part a gland or stuffing box H into which the section C of the cleaner extends, and within which the latter may rotate. The head G has a stem inlet H leading to a'steam chamber I which is connected to a steam passage J through a valved opening K, the passage J I leading to the end of the extension C of the cleaner and being adapted to convey steam thereto when the steam valve L opens the passage through the opening K. A valve seat M is best provided which is screwed into the head asshown.

The valve L is carried on a valve spindle N which projects through a gland or stuifing box G carried by a bracket P which is secured to the head Gin any suitable manner.

To operate the valve L I provide a gear Q, which is splined to the spindle N in such manner as to turn the latter, and also to permit the spindle to slide with relation to the gear,

the latter being confined against lateral movement in the bracket P as shown in Figure 1. By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen thatthe gear Q is turned by a similar gear R carried on a shaft S, the extension of which is shown in Fig. 2a, the shaft S being turned by a sheave Wheel, or other operating mechanism,

T,'a portionof which is shown in this figure.

Upon turning the sheave T the spindle N is, hence, rotated andis caused to travel to the left in Figure 1 to open the valve L by means of'screw threads U which turn in a fixed nut V. y e

The spindle N is also adapted to turn a small gear W which is formed on, or connected to, a rotating piece X which hasa bearing in a cylindrical portion Z, and which is of itself prevent-ed from moving longitudinally by a set screw A working in an annular groove B in the rotating piece X. The

screw-thrcaded end of the spindle is main' tained in continuous rotative relation to the piece X while it advances and retracts by a spline C working in a groove D in the spindle, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2.

The small gear W serves as a driving means for turning the cleaner A. This is accomplished by a large gear E which instead of being mounted directly and fixedly upon the cleaner A is mounted on the flange D previously described which is vfixed to the cleaner A. The gear E is so constructed that it has a limited rotative motion upon the flange D, which motion is idle and takes place while the valve is being opened. When this motion is completed, however, a lug X carried by the gear E encounters-an abutment X on theflange D, after which thefiange and element A are rotated in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 3 and 4:. r

The device operates asfollows:

When the parts are in the position of Figure 3 upon the sheave wheel T being operated to the left the valve immediately commences to open, but as the lug X on the gear E is against the abutment X the movement of the gear E is idle so far asturning the cleaner element is concerned. After several turns of the valve spindle Nthe valve reaches a position where it is fully open and able to supply the full head of steam to the cleaner. The l'ug X .on the gear E then engages an abutment X on the flange D and the cleaner is then rotated. A continuance of the rotation of the sheave T in the 'samedirection,

1 hence, rotates thecleaner as far as may be desired, usually for about one-half of .a complete revolution. During this time of rotation of the cleanerthe valve L is moving further from its seat, and this movement is idle since the valve has already been opened to the extent required before the cleaner is started in its rotation. I

When the cleaner isrotated to the desired point the rotation-of the sheave is reversed. This first causes the gear E to move idly about the cleaner until the lugX contacts with the abutment X whereupon the cleaner begins to move in a reverse direction towards its initial position. During this time the valve is also moving idly toward its seat, which movement it continues while the cleaner is being reversely rotated towards its F movement but is prevented from any substanby means of which "the" cleaner M is fixed to its extension N The cleaner M is provided with a flange O which is bolted to the flange L In the construction shown the large gear J 18 recessed on 1ts face to recelve the flange L and carries abutments P Q which are designed tocontact with a lug R .carried by the flange L 7 The operation is substantially that heretofore described with regard to Figure 1. When the sheave wheel H is rotated" in an anti-clockwise direction inFig. 6 the gear F being in mesh with the gear F the valve starts to open. Since the small pinion I is also inmesh with the gear J the latter also starts to rotate. This rotation of the gear is idle so far as rotating the cleaner is concerned until the abutment Q? engages the lug R after which the cleaner starts to move in a clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. .6, which illustratesthe position of the parts at the end of. the idle movement of the gear J Previous to such movement the valve is opened. by-the rotation of the nut E to an extent-sufficient to admit the full head of steam, and upon the rotation of the cleaner the valve moves idly to a more fully open position until the end of the initial movement of the cleaner. Uponthe motion of the sheave wheel being reversed the cleanerv stands momentarily stationary until the shoulder P reaches the lug R whereupon the cleaner is given a reverse movement to its initial position, the valve during the first partofthereverse operaton moving idly toward its seat, and during the last part acting to close the steam opening. Fig. 6 shows a sectionlooking toward the right in Fig. 5, or away from the boiler. Viewed from ap'oint looking to the left in Fig. 5 the initial movement of the sheave wheel is clockwise,and the initial movement of the cleaner is anticlockwise. These movements, however, may be varied as desired. V r

In prior cleanershaving the capacity of opening the valve prior to the turning of the cleaner, it hasbeen found necessary to provide more or less complicated locking means for holding the valve open, or engaging and disengagingmeans betweenthe drive member and the cleaner tube, or catches of one sort or another for accomplishing theseresults, The present invention accomplishes theresult without resort to any such means, and this is done through a lost motion connection locatedbetween the operating member, such as the sheave wheel, and the cleaner tube. By a lost motion connection I mean a device which is not disengaged in operation in the sense that it is retracted out of the path of some other part or forcibly locked against movement. I mean that class of devices, one of which is illustrated in the drawings, wherein there is a certainty of connection between the parts after a given amount of idle movement. The amplitude of this idle movement may be adjusted, but there is in any case a certainty of engagement. In such lost motion connections there are usually two movable parts capable of an idle relative movement but constrained to move together in either direction when said idle movement hastaken place. In the construction shown the two abutments connected with the cleaner (or with the gear) move in a fixed circular path and engage with a single abutment also moving in a fixed circular path upon the opposite part.

By the use of this connection it will be observed that I eliminate all catches, locks, cams, pawls, throw-oft devices, and separately moving parts which are likely to get out of order or break, and produce an extremely simple construction which will perform substantially the same duty. I do not wish to exclude the use of movable engaging parts where the movement is introduced for some other purpose than first giving an opening movement to the valve and then a turning movement to the cleaner and vice versa. For such movements no separately movab e parts are required according to my invention.

While I have shown and described several forms of the invention it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto since various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a boiler cleaner, a rotary cleaner element, a steam valve, and a common means for opening the valve and rotating the cleaner element, such means operating to first open the valve, and then to rotate the cleaner in one direction, and upon reversal of said means to rotate the cleaner toward its original position with the valve still open, and during the end of the return movement of the cleaner to positively close the valve by mechanically forcing it against its seat.

2. In a boiler cleaner, a rotary cleaner element, a steam valve, and a common means for opening and closing the valve and rotating the cleaner, said means operating to first open the valve and then rotate the cleaner, and upon a reversal of said means move the cleaner toward its initial position with the valve still open, and means for positively closing the valve during the last part of the reverse movement of the cleaner, said last means acting to mechanically force the valve against its seat.

tween the'sheave and shaft for rotating the latter,.a pinion rotated by a gear on the shaft and carrying a fixed nut, av thread formed upon the valve stem and coacting with said nut to move the'valve, a gear mounted upon the boiler cleaner, means a for "transmitting motion from said shaftto said gear, and a lost motion connection between said gear and said cleaner. i

4:. In a boiler cleaner, a rotarycleaner-element, a steam valve for controlling passage of steam to said element, means connected with said steam valve for opening the latter and positively closing the same by forcing it mechanically against its seat, an operating device for said means, connections between said operating device and said valve opening and closing means causing thevalve to open and close in accordance with'the movements of said operating device, and a lost motion drive between said operating device and said cleaner element, permitting movement of the operating means to open said valve without turning the cleaner during the operation of said lost motion device, and

-means for supporting the reaction forces of said operating device independently of the cleaner, whereby there is no tendency to move the latter during the operation of said lost motion device.

5. In a boiler cleaner, a rotary cleaner eleof said lost motion device, means for supporting the reaction forces of said operating device independently of the cleaner, whereby there is no tendency to move the latter during the operation of said lost motion device, said connections between the operating device and the boiler cleaner comprising a pinion driven by the operating device, a loose gear coaxial with the cleaner, a stop connected to the cleaner, and a stop connected to said gear,

said first-named stop being adapted to engage said lastenamed stop on each side when rotated in opposite directions.

6. In a boiler cleaner, a rotary cleaner element, a steam valve for controlling the passage of steam to said element, an operating device, a threaded valve-stem for said valve, a threaded member engaging the threads of said valve stem, means for producing relative motion between said last two members, said means being driven by said operating device, a gear also driven by said operating device, a lost motion connection between said gear and said boiler cleaner constructed to permit anidle movement of said gearwithout rotating said cleaner, and a stop device on said cleaner for engaging said gear, whereby the gear may rotate the cleaner.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

FREDERICK W. LINAKER. 

